Why Isn't MTA Sharing in Upbeat Rail Outlook

By Raanan Geberer
Brooklyn Eagle
The other day, I picked up a publication that I rarely read -- Barron's. As a longtime railfan, the cover story both surprised and intrigued me, "All Aboard!" with the subhead, "with gas prices high, traffic gnarly and imports buoyant, railroads look like terrific long-term investments."

The article didn't only focus on freight rail, long acknowledged as the most profitable segment of the industry. It also focused on passenger rail, and even subways and trolley lines. One of the illustrations depicted the Washington metro, and the article tells us that DC is planning to extend service from Georgetown out to Dulles Airport. It also mentioned new commuter rail being developed in Salt Lake City, a 15 percent rise in ridership in California's Capitol Corridor rail line, and "booming Amtrak."

I just recently, in fact, took a trip to Washington, and saw for myself how efficient and modern their subway system is. I also took note of Baltimore's new subway and light-rail system. All in all, according to Barron's, "over the past five years, the Dow Jones railroad Index has shot up 250 percent."

Contrast this, however, with New York City (I was about to say "Fun City," but younger people wouldn't get the reference). Here, the opening of the Second Avenue Subway is now not expected before 2015, and the MTA is warning that it may have to scale back one of its major construction projects, which also include the Long Island Railroad's East Side Access project and the No. 7 train's extension to the Javits Center. Moreover, the MTA has now requested its second fare hike in two years.

If one is to take all this seriously, it appears that the MTA and its component railroads -- the New York City subway system, the Long Island Railroad and MetroNorth -- are the only systems that aren't booming in the U.S. and Canada. Even across the river, in New Jersey, the Hudson-Bergen light rail, or trolley, line gets extended a few stops every year.

From this, what can we conclude?

I guess we can conclude that the MTA is incredibly mismanaged, that its internal structure is seriously flawed, or that the money is going somewhere that it's not supposed to be going. Or maybe all three. I hope that Governor Patterson orders an independent audit of the MTA -- the sooner, the better!


Originally published in Brooklyn Daily Eagle